A New Beginning

Some time ago, I posted photos of three old recipe boxes jam-packed with recipes that my dad had given me at our last visit a year and a half ago.  They were recipes written and used by him, my Nana, and my Grampie over many years, and now all this time later, I'm finally getting around to testing them out. 

Since I had a rocky relationship with them most of my life, the ongoing project of cataloging and testing these recipes are a way for me to both heal and forge a new beginning.  And for the first experiment, I chose a recipe that promised to be both easy and comforting; Hawaiian Cake.

The card is written out in what is likely Grampie's neat handwriting, since my dad and I both have a hand that looks like a kindergartener's scratchings.  It's not nearly as aged or spattered as some of the others, which leads me to think it was only used once or twice.  Maybe one of these days I'll ask if they remember it. 

Anyway, I normally prefer to make cakes from scratch.  Something about building it up in layers of
creamed butter and sugar, flour, and other goodies makes me feel like an artist layering paint on canvas.  For me, making cake from a box mix is the equivalent of a paint-by-numbers kit.  But since sleep deprivation has me in a death-grip lately, I settled for the compromise. 

And in my haste to get the thing in the oven, I spattered pineapple juice everywhere when I went to open the can of crushed pineapple.  Compared to the mess I have to clean when the baby fills her diaper, though, it was small potatoes.  And I managed to get the juice drained out like the instructions said.

From then on, it was a simple dump and mix operation.  I could have fired up the electric beaters or used my stand mixer, but I needed to take my frustrations out on the batter.  So my pastry fork and I went to town, and in the greased and floured pan it went.

 I had to bake it a bit longer than 20 minutes.  In fact, I almost had to double the baking time trying to get the middle to set up.  But it did, and I set the cake out to cool for the next day. 

This next part I missed, because my husband graciously did it while I slept like a hibernating bear in the next room.  We were at my mother-in-law's getting ready for her birthday dinner while our cleaning lady was organizing the kitchen at our place. 

So Jon graciously let me sleep, and used electric beaters to blend the milk, pineapple bits, pudding mix, and cream cheese.  After spreading it over the cake, we both realized there wasn't going to be enough room to spread the Cool Whip on top.  So we opted to dollop each individual piece instead, then sprinkle with nuts. 

The final verdict was a big two thumbs up.  Icebox cakes are more of a summer thing, so this recipe will probably get an encore around Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.  Preferably with some barbecue, corn on the cob, and a frosty pitcher of margaritas.  Until then, if you need a mini vacation or a cake off the beaten path, here it is:

Hawaiian Cake

Ingredients

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
2 eggs
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 carton Cool Whip
flaked coconut 
chopped walnuts

Directions
1)  Drain the pineapple.  Add water to the juice to make 1 1/2 cups of liquid.
2)  Add the liquid to the cake mix with the eggs.  Beat well.
3)  Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9x13 cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the middle of the cake sets (use the toothpick test).  Allow to cool.
4)  Combine cream cheese, milk, pudding mix, and pineapple and mix well.  Spread the mixture over the top of the cooled cake.  
5)  Top with Cool Whip, then sprinkle with coconut and chopped nuts.  Refrigerate.